Hebe Society

Questions and Answers – Answers to questions
sent to the Website

If you have a question please say if you don’t want it to be included on
this page.

Question – Growing Hebes in Queensland, Australia
Hebe’s predilection for a cool temperate climate probably explains why
they don’t appear to want to thrive in Bundaberg. See Res Publica for comments on growing hebes there – scroll to the bottom of
the page to view the paragraph on hebes.

Question – Moving Hebes
I hope you don't mind me contacting you but we have several hebes in our
garden (East Anglia) and absolutely love them, unfortunately two have grown
rather large and need moving (if possible), we would appreciate your advise
on how, and when to move them, unfortunately we can't remember what their
name is but they have white flowers.

Answer
Best to move them with the largest root ball possible, with regard to your
back. Hebes are easily moved as they have fibrous roots. Best time would
be some time in May, or later, when there's no possibility of frost and the
plants are in active growth. You could take cuttings as an insurance. Dig
a new hole, give this a good soaking, pop in your hebe, firm the soil well
and all should be well.

Question – Pruning Hebes
I have a question regarding the cultivation of Hebe rakaiensis. I have several
plants of this grown from cuttings taken a few years ago. Some have now outgrown
their allotted space and I’d like to cut them back. Is it safe to cut them
back hard (i.e. Do they re-grow from old wood?) and if so, is it OK to do
this in early autumn or should I wait until spring?

Answer
We have grown this plant for 25 years and have cut it hard back twice. It
would be best to leave any cutting back until spring, as any cuts will not
have time to heal before the winter, then rot can get in. Yes they do break
from old wood.

Our plant was breaking from the base, (check to see if your’s is).
It was then just a matter of lopping off branches over a month or two. If
it is not breaking from the base then trim the branches back by a third of
the leaves to encourage breaking lower down. Also you should take cuttings,
semi-hardwood, trim off most of the lower leaves and put into any ordinary
compost, do not cover, put in a shady place. Rooting in 6 to 8 weeks.

Question – Formal Hebes
I am in the process of buying plants for my new garden. My garden style is
formal and I am wanting to find a plant that grows into a small bush about
50 to 80 cm high and wide, and has dark green glossy leaves. I will be planting
them as a mass planting surrounded by a border of English box. I have been
told hebes could be a good option. I was wanting a plant that produces white
flowers. What varieties of hebe’s would you recommend. Also how long
do they flower for each year

Answer
My suggestion is Hebe vernicosa. It grows to 50 cm high, and about 80 cm wide,
has small dark green leaves, is totally hardy in the UK, has whiter or lilac
flowers in early summer, and always looks good.

Question – Hebes and deer
I have a Hebe pinguifolia ‘Pagei’. Is it deer proof or resistant?

Answer
As far as I know all hebes are readily eaten by deer.

Question – Hebes from Seed
I am not a very knowledgeable or experienced gardener, but I was wondering
whether it is possible to grow hebes from seeds in the UK? If so, can you
point me towards a place where I may buy them? Also, when is the best time
of year to plant?

Answer
Hebes show a marked tendency to form hybrids, so any group of hebes in a garden
can give rise to hebe seedlings that are hybrids. Indeed most hebes grown
in the UK are hybrids. For this reason it is best to propagate garden varieties
by cuttings. A hebe cuttings exchange is available to members of the Hebe
Society, we also have an excellent quarterly magazine ‘Hebe News’.

Most nurseries and garden centres sell a few hebes, at usually £3 to
£9. So a tour of you local nurseries would yield a reasonable collection.
Container grown hebes can be planted any time that the ground is not frozen.

Hebe seeds (and seeds for other New Zealand plants) can be obtained from
the New Zealand Alpine Garden Society, www.backyardgardener.com/nz.html
– there is an annual seed distribution for members. Also from Southern
Seeds e.paterson@ext.canterbury.ac.nz
– this is a commercial seed distributor. Remember hebes will only come
true from seed if the parent was grown in isolation.

Sow ripe seed on to a 50:50 mixture of John Innes No 2 compost and a peat-based
compost. Cover the seeds with a fine layer of grit and place out of the sun,
in an unheated greenhouse or coldframe. Seeds sown in autumn should have germinated
by spring. Pot on once they are large enough to handle.

Question – are there any scented hebes?

Answer
The short answer is that many hebes are scented, also some forms of Hebe cupressoides
have scented leaves.

Question – where do I buy small hebes
I hope you can help me find either a catalogue showing different small Hebes,
approx 12 – 18 in, or the name of a nursery or garden centre which
specialises in them. I have a small stone wall which is at the moment unplanted
except for one or two clematis, other than that it attracts many weeds. I
would like to fill it with a selection of hebes with a mulch of gravel or
slate. Although the wall is not very high (approximately 2 ft ) it is at least
30 in long, set behind my herbaceous border. Northamptonshire, UK

Answer
Nurseries that would send you catalogues, and/or have online catalogues are:
Garden Cottage Nursery
Lynash Nurseries
Siskin Plants
See the Nurseries page of the Hebe Society website
Most nurseries and garden centres have some hebes. Another excellent source
of information is the RHS Plant Finder, online at www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantfinder.asp
The Hebe Society has a good cuttings exchange.

Question – Hebe speciosa in NSW, Australia
I have a plant called purple koromiko or handsome hebe it has a beautiful
purple flower. I would like to plant this at the back with my daisies and
gardenias, but in autumn to mid-winter it does not get a lot of sun, but in
summer it gets a lot more it faces north, but I have screening plants behind
that are causing shade I need to know if it will flower alright without losing
some of its flowering time and going woody? Could you also tell me when it
actually flowers and can I keep it trimmed? I have got about 13 of them and
I am also thinking of putting some out the front of my house this faces west.
I have not been able to find out much information about this plant. I live
on the Central Coast of NSW

Answer
This is not a plant I personally, as I live too far north (in the UK) to grow
it. Here it would be grown on the south coast. One of its many hybrids, Hebe
‘Midsummer Beauty’, is very popular here in Cheshire, and hardy in most winters.
Semi-hardwood cuttings are usually recommended hebes. Here they can be taken
in any month, but in late summer is usual. Hebes respond well to trimming,
in fact it improves them. Best time is just after flowering.

There is a good description of Hebe speciosa in ‘The Cultivation of NZ Trees
and Shrubs’ by L J Metcalf, also in ‘Growing NZ Plants, Shrubs and Trees’
by Muriel E Fisher. These should give you enough information. Here it flowers
in late summer.

Question – Hebe ‘Autumn Glory’
I am considering planting a Hebe ‘Autumn Glory’ in my garden in Northern California
(Santa Rosa). The spot I am considering has full sun. I was warned that hebes
tend to get untidy looking in a matter of a few years. Can you comment?

Answer
Yes some hebes do become untidy in time, especially Hebe ‘Autumn Glory’. It
is best to prune it lightly after flowering. Then it can put its energy into
just growing, and not setting seed.

You can use the trimmings as cuttings, just removing most of the lower leaves,
and cut just below a leaf joint. Put in any compost in a shady place, rooting
in about six weeks. If the parent plant gets too leggy you can replace it.

This is indeed a lovely hebe, and the flower colour is a rich violet and
very special.

Question – Hebe ‘Blue Clouds’
My wife and I are trying to decide which type of hebe to plant in our west
facing garden with partial shade in the afternoon. We have in a previous home,
planted Hebe Blue Clouds, but have been informed that it is susceptible to
mildew. Please could you comment on the viability of this opinion and suggest
an alternative with similar growth characteristics and flower colour. We do
have water retentive soil which will dry after a couple of days without rain.

Answer
Hebe Blue Clouds is a very nice hebe if it grows well. I have had great difficulty
with it and agree it is susceptible to mildew. A lot more sun, here in Cheshire,
would help.

I would suggest Hebe ‘Sapphire’, Hebe ‘Edington’ or Hebe ‘Neil’s Choice’
or even Hebe ‘Nicola’s Blush’ or Hebe ‘Pewter Dome’. A visit to a local nursery
or garden centre might give you the best idea of how good the various hebes
look to you. This is what counts, what you think of it.

If you are near Hornchurch, Essex, you could try visiting Graham Hutchins
at the County Park Nursery. Lynash Nurseries in Somerset, do mail order and
have a very good illustrated catalogue of hebes. Have a look for both in the
Nurseries page of our website.

Question – Hebe ‘Golden Esk’?
I have recently acquired a new hebe called Hebe Golden Esk, a whipcord, bright
yellow / green foliage, supposedly grows to 25 cm I have consulted all my
books on hebes but cannot find any reference to it. Can anybody help please.

Answer
The full name for this plant is Hebe ‘Karo Golden Esk’. It is described in
‘Hebes Here and There’ by Graham Hutchins, in the Addendum, and also in ‘International
Register of Hebe Cultivars’ by L J Metcalf, under the above name. It has also
been called Hebe ochracea ‘Golden Esk’.
The description in Graham’s book is as follows: ‘A natural hybrid between
Hebe odora and Hebe armstrongii. Found by Dr Brian Malloy near the Esk River,
Canterbury, New Zealand in 1988. Karo is an acronym for known and recorded
origin’. A whipcord hebe which is green in summer and gold in winter. Hardy.

Question – Hebe bishopiana
I’m trying to purchase the Hebe Bishop to send to England. Do you know where
I would be able to buy this, either from the UK or New Zealand?
Sue, New Zealand

Answer
The plant you are looking for is called Hebe bishopiana. There is also a plant
known as Hebe bishopiana ‘Champagne’, but this does not resemble Hebe bishopiana,
and is best thought of as Hebe ‘Champagne’. Nothing is ever simple, is it?

Question – Hebe ‘Celine’
I would be grateful if you could give me a description of the above Hebe as
we have been unable to find anything on the net. Hazel, France

Answer – April
Hazel, I have never heard of this hebe, has anyone else? I have searched the
web using Google and Dogpile and found no useful answers. There is nothing
in the UK and New Zealand versions of Plant Finder, see the Hebe bishopiana
query above.

Answer – July
Recently you asked me for a description of Hebe ‘Celine’. Today I bought Hebe
‘Celina’ from a local nursery (Cheshire, UK).

Looking for Hebe ‘Celina’ on the Internet I find it is available from M Droogh,
a Dutch nurseryman, www.mdroogh.nl/
His description is: Hebe ‘Celina’ is a shrub with a spreading growth pattern,
which does excellently in borders or in a pot on a terrace or balcony. During
the months May and June it flowers abundantly. It is a real asset to any plant
collection. Dead blooms should be removed.

Question – Hebe salicifolia
I am looking for a large growing hebe 8–10 feet tall. I understand that
Hebe salicifolia fits the bill? Do you know where I could get one? I live
in Bury, Lancashire. Also, do you know of any other varieties that reach this
height? Henry, UK

It might be worthwhile to do a search for Hebe salicifolia using www.google.co.uk
and also the UK and New Zealand versions of Plant Finder, see the Hebe bishopiana
query above.

There are a number of other large growing hebes that would do, although these
may be less hardy. There is the Wand series of hebes, they have Hebe salicifolia
as a parent and are large growing. They all have Wand in the name. Related
hebes are Hebe ‘Miss E Fittall’, Hebe ‘Midsummer Beauty’ and Hebe ‘Edington’.

Also worth considering are Hebe ‘Spender’s Seedling’ (on the small side) and
Hebe ‘C P Raffill’ (if you can find it).

Question – Hebe identification
Please could you help us put a name to a hebe we had in our old garden? We
haven’t had any luck finding it in any books or garden centres. The leaves
are purple all year round and the flowers, which are three inches long, are
white at the base and pink at the end. The plant grows to around four foot.
Any suggestions to what this may be will be appreciated.
Matt, UK

Answer
Hebe identification is difficult, even if the plants are in front of you.
There are, or have been, many poorly document hebe hybrids in circulation.
It seems likely that your plant is Hebe ‘Purple Queen’. A hebe with this name
received the Award of Merit 1893. Descriptions in nursery catalogues are somewhat
vague, with the best saying ‘A Hebe speciosa hybrid with glossy bronze-tinted
broad leaves and purple leaf buds, flowers in large dense racemes of purple
or rosy-purple or violet-purple’. It is also known as Hebe ‘Amy’.

I know of two more modern hebe hybrids with purple leaves. Hebe ‘Purple Picture’
has shiny purple young leaves (1.2–1.6 in long), that become dark green
as they age, the flowers are a rich violet-purple. Hebe ‘Purple Princess’
has leaves (0.4–0.8 in long) that are purple when young, and bears short
racemes of lilac-blue flowers. All three hebes grow to about three feet.

I have included leaf outlines of all three hebes to aid identification. These
have come from ‘Hebes Here and
There’, by Graham Hutchins.